William Henry Harrison facts for kids
William Henry Harrison Facts For Kids - social studies skills studied in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th grades.
9th President of the USA
William Henry Harrison – An Introduction
William Henry Harrison was the 9th President of the United States who served as the President in 1841 for a very brief term of 31 days. His tenure as the President is the shortest in the history of the United States Presidential tenures. The term was so short since he passed away due to complications arising from Pneumonia. His sudden death, so soon after his becoming President led to a small constitutional crisis on the line of succession. Interestingly, he was the grandfather of the 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison (1889 to 1893).
Early life
William Henry Harrison was born as the youngest son of Benjamin Harrison V and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison on February 9, 1773, at the Harrison family home, Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia. Their family was of English descent. William’s father was a planter who served the Continental Congress as a delegate and signed the declaration of Independence. William was hence also the last U.S. president born as a British subject before the American Revolution.
His family was active in politics and his father served as the fifth governor of Virginia while his brother, Carter Bassett Harrison, represented Virginia in the U.S. House.
Formal education
William joined Hampden–Sydney College in 1787 after undergoing home tutoring. He received education here till 1790 when his father moved him to Southampton County, for a short stint followed by medical training at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1791, he left the medical training due to his father’s death and family’s financial conditions and chose to take up an Army career instead at the age of eighteen. He rose to become the Major General Wayne’s aide-de-camp in 1793. Continue reading below>>>
Family
William Henry Harrison married Anna Tuthill Symmes of North Bend, Ohio at the age of 22. Anna’s father, Judge Symmes was opposed to the match and hence the couple eloped and got married. William and Anna had ten children, including John Scott, the father of the 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison.
Career
William Henry Harrison took to a political career after he resigned from military service in June, 1798. He was appointed territorial secretary by President John Adams in 1798 and quickly became a reputed leader. He was appointed the Governor of the Indiana territory in May 1800 by President Johan Adams. He was re-appointed to this position by the U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as well in 1803, 1806, and 1809. He resigned from this post in 1812 to continue his military career during the war of 1812. After a successful two years he again resigned from the Army in 1814 and came back to his family home in North Bend.
He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1816, the Ohio State Senate in 1819, and U.S. Senate in 1824. After a brief stint as minister plenipotentiary in Gran Colombia, he again retired from public life and moved back to his family home. In 1836 he ran unsuccessfully in the Presidential election as a Whig candidate, but in 1840 on his second run, he became the 9th President of the United States. On April 14, 1841 he became the first U.S president to die while in office and was succeeded by John Tyler.